In the normal life of a commercially viable oil or gas well it is customary for the well to produce water in conjunction with the desired hydrocarbons or combination thereof. In the early stages of the life of said wells the flowing pressures are sufficient to carry the undesired water through the wellbore and out of the well to be separated from the hydrocarbons at the surface. After a period of time, as the subterranean reservoir being produced from begins to be depleted, the pressures of the reservoir decrease and the rate of the hydrocarbons flow in turn decreases. When this occurs the flowing pressure decrease and have an adverse effect on the capacity of the well to carry and remove the undesired water being produced by the well. This is especially true in natural gas wells. When the well cannot carry said water out of the wellbore it builds up in the production tubing in which the well produces the hydrocarbons and literally shuts off flow to the surface. This is commonly known as a dead or drowned well.
In the past, in wells which there has been some production of gas still continuing despite accumulated water or the like, a foaming agent, such as a water-soluble or water and oil soluble surfactant such as soap have been added to the well, both in liquid and in stick form. At present, soap sticks are available in two general types. In the first type, the soap material is a solid and is molded to comprise an elongated rod shaped member which are dropped into the well. The other technique incorporates the use of a water soluble carrier into which the liquid soap material is placed.
These soap sticks travel through ordinary channels of commerce, are bought by the well operator and the gauger drops the sticks into the well. The water in the well dissolves the stick thereby releasing the soap to create foam.
Such products have been found very efficient in lowering the surface tension of the water and are capable of producing large volumes of foam where the well is producing some gas. The gas entering the well will provide the necessary agitation to transform the now soapy column of fluid into foam, thus lightening the standing column weight making it easier for the bottom hole pressure to push this now column of foam upward in the well bore and carry the water contained therein to the surface for disposal by conventional methods. This method has been found very effective in removing water from a well while there is still sufficient gas production (i.e. agitation) to effect such foaming. The method just described will not readily produce flow in a well which has been drowned to such a degree that it is not producing a substantial quantity of gas. Although it may eventually produce enough foam to start the liquid flowing from most such wells, the time element involved is in many instances so great as to make it impractical.
Prior to our novel invention, when a well had reached the point where the agitation provided by the well was insufficient to utilize the aforementioned process the operator dealt with the problem mechanically. These methods include a process known as swabbing, which entails literally bailing the undesired water column from the well bore. A plunger is run down the well on a wire line and the water is physically removed. Other alternatives consist of expensive pumping equipment permanently installed costing literally tens of thousands of dollars. All of these methods require expensive equipment and considerable labor. They also take considerable time. If the right equipment is not available expensive delays result. My new, economical and useful method has the advantage that it does not require bulky or expensive equipment, neither does it require a crew of several men. It can be used rapidly and the necessary materials can be kept in stock since they require a minimum of storage space.